Congress will field strong candidate against Modi: Chidambaram

Sivaganga: Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Tuesday said his party will field a strong candidate against BJP PM candidate Narendra Modi in the Varanasi constituency, where AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal is expected to take on the BJP's prime ministerial candidate. The minister chided Modi for preparing to contest from two seats including Varanasi and remarked "may be they have paucity of candidates".

Taking a swipe at BJP for the hype it built around Modi, Chidambaram in a tone tinged with sarcasm said "no body knows Modi in Tamil Nadu. No one fears Modi". Chidambaram also took a jibe at Arun Jaitley for his statement that senior Congress leaders were shying away from contest". "Arun Jaitley is fighting the election for the first time at the age of 62. I have been contesting for 30 years", Chidambaram hit out at Jaitley while speaking to reporters after addressing an election rally.

The minister chided Modi for preparing to contest from two seats including Varanasi.

Chidambaram has won the Sivaganga constituency for seven terms. On being asked if his party has been sidelined in Tamil Nadu, where it could not find any ally to fight the April 24 Lok Sabha election, he shot back "no national party has aligned with DMK. Dravidian parties cannot represent Tamil Nadu at the national level".

He said DMK has been "ostracised" in Tamil Nadu, in an apparent reference to the M Karunanidhi-led party not been able to strike poll pact with national parties. Earlier addressing a series of election meetings in various places, Chidambaram said DMK and AIADMK cannot achieve anything by sending MPs to Delhi without the support of Congress or BJP.

"Either Congress and DMK should have aligned or AIADMK and BJP should have forged alliance. That has not taken place. There was talk about Third Front. But the AIADMK had pushed out Left parties. Now what they can do in Delhi without the support of national parties?", he asked. "Congress had worked hard for the welfare of the people for eight generations. People had repeatedly elected Congress only because they did a lot for them. Of course there may be nirai (good deeds)and kurai (shortcomings). People had taught a lesson to the Congress whenever there had been shortcomings in the governance" he said.

In the last 40 years, both DMK and AIADMK had been "fighting among themselves without doing anything good for the people. It is of no use if the fight between the two parties goes to Delhi also, he said. Whether he contested in Sivaganga or somebody else contested, he would work with dedication as if he himself is in the contest, Chidambaram who has reportedly keen on fielding his son, Karti, said.